The Immortal Hunter(4)

"I gather you don't think he's going to give up when he sees us, then?" Justin asked dryly and then slapped the bag to his mouth.

Decker snorted at the very suggestion. He waited for his own canine teeth to drop down, and slapped a bag of blood to the fangs with one hand as he reached with the other to unlock and flip open the nearest weapons case. His eyes slid over the guns inside. While you weren't likely to kill an immortal with a gun, you could slow him down and even temporarily incapacitate him... especially using bullets that were coated with the tranquilizer Bastien's techie boys had developed.

"He's getting out of the van," Justin announced.

Decker glanced forward to see that Justin had already drained his bag and was shoving it in the small bag at his feet, one filled with fast-food wrappers. The man liked to eat as much as he liked to talk, Decker had noticed. Shaking his head, he glanced past him to peer out the front windshield, but couldn't see much over the seats. Pulling his own now-empty bag from his teeth, he asked, "What's he doing?"

"Walking around to the back of the van... opening the door... he's digging around inside, getting something-I think he's getting out weapons." Justin glanced back, worry on his face as he asked, "Do you think he spotted us?"

Decker's mouth tightened. He set aside the empty bag and turned back to the case before him. "Come pick your weapons."

"Should we call Lucian or Mortimer?" Justin asked as he headed back to join him.

Decker considered the question as he chose two guns and a box of coated bullets. Lucian had sent them north as a mere precaution. He'd also sent Mortimer and Sam west for the same reason, but he and his life mate, Leigh, were searching the Haliburton area where Nicholas had actually been seen by Grant. Decker suspected his uncle had expected to find him there, and hoped to be the one to get to him first. It meant both couples were far enough away that they weren't going to be of any use at this point. He shook his head. "It would take at least an hour, possibly two for either of them to get here. We're on our own."

Justin nodded slowly, and then transformed from the good-natured, slightly mischievous sidekick he usually acted, to the hunter he was. His shoulders straightened and his expression became grim as he began to select weapons from the case.

Unwilling to risk Nicholas creeping up on them while they were distracted, Decker took his weapons and the box of bullets and made his way up front to the driver's seat. A glance showed that Nicholas now had a quiver full of arrows and a crossbow slung over his back, but was still digging around in the back of the van. Looking for more weapons, Decker supposed, and kept an eye on him as he loaded his guns. Nicholas was still busy in the back of the van when Justin rejoined him in the front of the SUV.

"Now what?" Justin asked, eyeing the rogue. "Try to creep up on him and get the drop?"

"Sounds good to me," Decker muttered. He reached for the keys in the ignition and then thought better of it. If Nicholas became aware of their presence before they reached him, he might hop in the van and try to take off. If that happened, Decker didn't want to be fumbling to get the keys in the ignition to give chase. Leaving them in the ignition, he reached up and shut off the SUV's interior light so it wouldn't come on when the door opened. Fortunately, another modification performed on all their vehicles ensured there was no beeping to warn that the keys were still in the ignition, and he was able to slip silently out of the vehicle even as Justin did.

Afraid even a quiet click would give away their presence, Decker didn't close the door all the way, but left it cracked open. Justin did the same, and the two men moved cautiously forward, easing through the grass as silently as possible. Neither man spoke, but halfway there, Justin moved to the other side of the trail so that they were approaching from opposite sides. It was the kind of thing Decker's usual partner, Anders, would have done automatically, but he and Anders had worked together for decades. Decker supposed he shouldn't be surprised by Justin's actions. This might be the first time he'd worked with him, but Justin had done this with Mortimer for years and knew what he was about. Dropping his worry about the kid being able to handle himself, Decker turned his full attention to their quarry as they moved up silently on him.

They were both perhaps six feet away when Nicholas straightened and said, "It took you long enough to find your balls and approach. I was starting to think I'd be standing here until dawn."

Decker stilled, aware that Justin had as well. All three were silent, and then Nicholas raised his hands and slowly turned. As expected, time had little changed him, his dark hair was a little longer than Decker remembered, but his eyes were still silver-blue and he was still handsome, with chiseled features that would make most women's hearts flutter. The only change was that the easy smile and charm he used to exude had been replaced by a cold, grim expression Decker was more used to seeing on Lucian's face. He also had a gun in each hand, both presently pointed skyward.

"We were choosing and loading weapons," Justin explained, apparently stung by the comment.

Nicholas nodded solemnly, but his gaze was on Decker as he said, "Must be hard to choose what to shoot your own blood with."

Decker merely shrugged, but acknowledged to himself that this wasn't easy for him. Nicholas was family... but he was also a rogue. "How long have you known we were following you?"